Ricoh Arena and city council bosses are quietly confident that traffic will continue to run smoothly before and after City's matches at the arena.

Many thought the A444 at Rowleys Green would be snarled up on match days - but the jams didn't happen on Saturday.

Coventry council's city development director, John McGuigan, and the Ricoh Arena's operations manager, Charles Rayner, are hopeful things will continue to run smoothly - even when the ground is up to its full capacity.

Mr McGuigan said: "We planned to hold cars back at the club's car park for half an hour, but everything cleared so quickly we were able to let them go after 20 minutes. We have also sent out a clear message to supporters that they cannot park within a three-mile radius of the ground in residential areas, and traffic wardens were out in force on Saturday."

Fans had hoped that the ground would be fully open on Saturday, but safety inspectors limited capacity by 9,000.

Mr Rayner said: "I think most people heeded the message to get here early, and to try and come by bus. I think things will get even easier for future games, as the fans get more used to the set-up." ..SUPL: